To ask you to settle a debate around periods and pregnancy

[mayaknew]

Topic of discussion with colleagues around people who have periods during their pregnancy

A couple have said that while people do absolutely have bleeding for different reasons ... people who claim to have a monthly period throughout are lying.

Any mners out there had periods during pregnancy?

What? Of course you can't have a period while pregnant. It might be bleeding/spotting for other reasons

Nope. If you're bleeding while pregnant you need to go to the hospital

Period? No you can’t because it’s impossible to menstrate while pregnant; that’s not how biology works. However I do think there are cases where women have experienced irregular periods anyway, have bleeding (for whatever reason) that happen periodically throughout their pregnancy - thus appearing to be a ‘period’

So yes, it’s possible to have periods of bleeding through your pregnancy. It is not possible to have a period throughout pregnancy.

You can have a monthly bleed while pregnant but it's not a proper period.

I was about to say YANBU as "people" don't have periods or get pregnant but now see that wasn't the question...

You can't have a period while pregnant, as in shed the lining of your uterus, because obviously then the pregnancy would not continue to be viable. But you can rarely have regular bleeding. I know someone who bled every month like a period. It obviously wasn't a period though.

Yes. It seems to run in my family. They are lighter then normal but it’s not until 5/6 months that they stop

But obviously it’s monthly bleeding not period

Menstruation is when the womb lining sheds. Bleeding during pregnancy is not due to having a period.

Does some women really not understand what a period actually is?

I have been pregnant 3 times and am currently pregnant now. I have found out I was pregnant each time 5 days before my period was due. I have bled each time I should have had my period for the first month after finding out I was pregnant but wouldn't class it as an actual period as my bleeding whilst heavy would last two to three days max.

Some women have very light periods due to the contraception they normally use so may mistake spotting for an actual period.

I was at college with someone who went to the Dr's for odd pains and feelings - turned out she was 7 months pregnant. She'd bled as she normally did all along, and had no idea she was pregnant. Whether she normally had very light periods I don't know.

I also know of 2 women in my family that discovered they were pregnant when they went into labour! (one went to the loo with 'food poisoning' and walked out of the bathroom with a baby!) They were 40s and thought the pregnancy symptoms were menopause. This was 1950s/60s.

So even not bleeding isn't always taken as a sign of pregnancy.

There are people who have irregular periods. This was me before getting pregnant. My cycle was every three months. So I suppose if I didn't know I was pregnant, bled at 12 weeks and bled at 6 months, the yeh, I would think it was normal.

I never used to believe people who didn't know they were pregnant until it happened to my friend and she didn't notice until she was 36 weeks.

@EvilPea

But obviously it’s monthly bleeding not period

Ok so this is what they were talking about.

They were saying that while bleeding does occur it's obviously not a period therefore how do people have surprise babies on their bathroom floor.

Bleeding is really common in pregnancy, and some women will have irregular bleeding all through their pregnancy. If you aren’t someone who tracks your cycles, you could easily mistake that for a period.

Because you might normally have light infrequent periods.

Or they might have two wombs.

I worked with a woman who found out she was pregnant at 31 weeks. She’d had no idea. Someone asked about periods, and she showed us her period tracking app. She’d logged 3-4 days of bleeding every 4 weeks or so, throughout her whole pregnancy.
Obviously we now all know that this was in fact not a period, and just some kind of bleed. However she wasn’t trying to conceive and had no symptoms. I can totally believe why she assumed these bleeds were her period.

I know two people who had monthly bleeds and didn't realise they were pregnant until late on (7months, and in the ambulance with suspected appendicitis labour.

Not realising you're pregnant is most common in young women or women nearing the menopause when periods may be more erratic and women are less likely to be monitoring their fertility. Weight gain is also explained by lifestyle changes and young women have firmer abdominal muscles that show little bump.

That happened to me in both my pregnancies. I was at the hospital getting scanned so often that in the end they just told me it's what my body does and there was no need to come in if it happened again. I think it was some of the womb lining from what they said, so q genuine period. Not always lighter either. At one point the blood was hard to contain as it was dripping out like a tap.

@Sceptre86 bleeding from contraception is not a period either, it’s a withdrawal bleed- or just bleeding if there’s no breaks involved with the contraception.

My bleeding was regular like a period and not hugely different from all others in terms of heaviness. I think they are judging from their own experiences a bit too much.

Just to add. I don't have 2 wombs.

I had painful implantation bleeding at about 5 weeks in and it was very hard to know the difference, but I didn't have them every month after that

I've always had regular as clockwork periods. When I was last pregnant, I still bleed, just like a period until 20 weeks. I was scanned at each time to just check the baby was fine, she was. So I can see how someone could not know or think they were pregnant.

I had monthly bleeds for the first three months of my first pregnancy. They were quite light but that was normal for me. I was just starting fertility investigations as my periods were infrequent and light and getting nowhere with TTC. I was delighted to have regular bleeds thinking it would increase my chance of getting pregnant, not realising I already was.